Dispatches: How They Squander Our Billions.

Broadcaster Jane Moore investigates the escalation in Britain's public sector spending. The film highlights the findings of a report due to be released on March 9th which details the escalation in government public sector spending and sets out what needs to be done to stop the waste. It is reported that public spending wastage has cost every household across the water nearly £50,000 over the past eleven years. This film investigates a variety of controversial public projects which have had millions, if not billions, spent on them and attempts to discover where the money went, who sanctioned the spending and why so little appears to have been done to prevent massive waste and excess. These projects include: the health service computer which is now billions over budget, is four years late and has been described as not fit for purpose; the £60m digital arts gallery known as "The Public" which is behind schedule and has only been partially opened to the public; the millions local councils lose each year on unnecessary road building delays; and the millions the government has spent on tax credits overpayments to people who don't seem to qualify for it. Jane also uncovers some of the more weird and bizarre instances of government wastage including the Ministry of Defence's attempts to hire a team of psychics.